Two civil service officials among Padma Vibhushan awardees

New Delhi, Jan 26 (IANS) Former governor Govind Narain and former top bureaucrat Chandrika Prasad Srivastava are among those chosen by the central government Monday for Padma Vibhushan, the country's second highest civilian award.

Govind Narain, a retired Indian Civil Service (ICS) official, was home secretary and defence secretary before his retirement.

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Born May 5, 1917, in Uttar Pradesh's Mainpuri district, Narain has published papers on national security and is a co-author of books 'Old Mandarins of India' and 'The Governor - Sage or Saboteur'.

Srivastava was the joint secretary in the Indian Prime Minister's office from 1964-1966. The 89-year-old civil servant, who became the first chief executive of the Shipping Corporation of India was elected to serve as the secretary-general of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), London.

He was also the first Chancellor of the Sweden-based World Maritime University.

Srivastava was conferred the title of Honorary Knight Commander of the Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George by Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom in 1990. The other awards he received include the International Maritime Prize from the IMO, the Padma Bhushan in 1972, Lal Bahadur Shastri National Award for Excellence in Public Administration and Management Sciences.

Srivastava's wife Nirmala Devi is the founder of a new religious movement called Sahaja Yoga.